Yellowstone
Lava lake beneath Yellowstone over two-and-a-half times bigger than previously thought

Videos showing animals fleeing America's Yellowstone National Park has prompted concerns the supervolcano beneath is about to erupt.

Footage appears to show bison and other animals in an exodus from the park causing a number of bloggers to speculate this could mean the volcano is about to explode, The Epoch Times reports.

The authors say that an earthquake that hit the area on 30 March appeared to have sent the animals scurrying for safety, and that this is could spell disaster for the volcano, which last erupted 640,000 years ago.

In a YouTube clip titled ALERT! Yellowstone Buffalo Running for Their Lives! bison are shown running along the road away from the park.

Blogger Jay Lee wrote in a post on his site tatoott1009.com: "Whether I believe this, or whether I don't believe the story or not, I don't know. I can tell you this story I saw this morning about the buffaloes running the street ... whether or not it's because of any activity in Yellowstone or not, I don't know.

"But I'll tell you this, whatever the case may be, that their running away from Yellowstone is an alert of some sort.

"It also could be from this video, where poachers are killing them, chasing them, abusing them, running them around. Could be hundreds of things for them to be running. I wanted you to listen [to the videos] and make up your own mind on what to think."

While volcanic activity at Yellowstone has been frequently debated, as have what would happen if the volcano were to erupt, recently researchers have suggested the volcano may be dying.

Ken Sims, from the University of Wyoming, said air and water samples taken from the world's largest volcano suggests it could be dying.

After measuring the acidity in water samples and radon in the air, they found that rather than erupting, the volcano may be on the verge of extinction, the Star Tribune reported.

In spite of reports like these, bloggers continue to speculate on the catastrophic threat an eruption from Yellowstone would pose. Tom Lupshu, who claims to be a "survivalist and search and rescue expert", said many winter elk from Yellowstone were missing.

"Herds of bison running for their lives on the public roadways and they were not being chased or rounded up, the bison were running down the mountain slopes onto roadways running right past a filming crew. They detect something vast and deadly. The Yellowstone Supervolcano is the only thing there that would fit the bill," he wrote.